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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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The Pessimist’s Guide to Things That Will Never Work

By Dan Balowon March 4, 2014
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tired young businessman

This is the first in a three-part series on attitudes toward work, specifically for people in publishing.

Today, I am writing about pessimism.  If there were a book glorifying its virtues, it would be the title above.  It would be a thousand pages long with an updated and expanded edition published annually.

Full disclosure…I became a baseball fan of the Chicago Cubs in 1966, a year when they lost a team record 103 games.  Their last World Series Championship? Just five short years after Orville and Wilbur Wright flew twelve seconds in a powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903.  A long time ago.

Trust me, I understood pessimism from a young age. 

I define pessimism as a defense mechanism for anyone who wants to avoid disappointment. Pessimists expect to lose a coin flip even though there is just as good a chance they could win.

Back to the Cubs, the late Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko once wrote, “An optimist looks at a glass of water and sees it as half full. A pessimist looks at the same glass and sees it as half empty. A Cubs fan looks at it and says, ‘When’s it gonna spill?'”

There are good reasons to be a pessimist, especially for authors. The odds are stacked against both the new author and previously published author.  Considering all the people who want to write a book in the world, you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than publishing a best-seller that makes enough money so you can quit your day job.

There are even some pessimists at publishers, because even after deciding to publish a book, the chances are about 50/50 that it will never earn back the advance paid to the author. 

The most interesting aspect of this is that while eternal optimists are considered unrealistic, pessimists are often considered wise, when really they have simple 20/20 hindsight mistaken for wise foresight.  You know them.  The “I knew it wouldn’t work” crowd.

Publishing is a tough business, but if it were easy, everyone would be doing it and making lots of money.

The great science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein said it best,  “Don’t ever become a pessimist…a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.”

It is pretty simple.  Choose this day your attitude.  Optimism is just a lot more enjoyable!

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Category: Career, Dan, The Publishing LifeTag: Career

Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?

By Steve Laubeon March 3, 2014
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by Steve Laube

I know what it is like to feel the earth move under my feet having experienced the '64 Alaska earthquake firsthand. (The above picture is from the neighborhood where we lived called Turnagain Arm.) Therefore I know the difference between a 9.2 Richter scale quake and a tremor that registers near 2.0 on the scale.

Last Thursday Amazon announced they were reducing the royalty …

Read moreDid You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?
Category: Book Business, E-Books, Get Published, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, E-Books, publishing

Fun Fridays – February 28, 2014

By Steve Laubeon February 28, 2014
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"Thunderstruck" by 2Cellos.

Re-imagine something and turn it into something of your own. Great artists and Great writers do this every day.
Who knew AC/DC could ever sound like this?

Read moreFun Fridays – February 28, 2014
Category: Fun Fridays, Steve

How Much Back Story?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 27, 2014
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Sometimes in my review of a novel, I find that the story doesn't pick up soon enough. I'm not sure what I'll be reading about and my interest may lag, though I can still eye great writing.

"But I wanted my readers to know about my characters," the author may protest.

Understandable, indeed.

However, I believe it's important to lay out the basic conflicts for the reader early on so she'll …

Read moreHow Much Back Story?
Category: Craft, Editing, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Back Story, Craft, Writing Craft

What Will You Give Up for Lent?

By Karen Ballon February 26, 2014
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Believe it or not, Easter is just around the corner. Which means something else is almost upon us:

Lent.

I love the idea of a 40-day preparation for Easter, of refocusing our hearts and minds to spend more time in prayer and contemplation of what Christ has done for us. And I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of “giving up” something for those 40 days. Even more intriguing—and sometimes …

Read moreWhat Will You Give Up for Lent?
Category: Career, Christian, Faith, Karen, Personal, TheologyTag: Career, Faith, lent

Basketball and Writing

By Dan Balowon February 25, 2014
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Next week is March and that means basketball “March Madness” around the country.  From high school to college, teams will compete in tournaments where excitement is at its peak.  

One of my hobbies is to work as the official scorer for the Wheaton College (Illinois) men’s and women’s home basketball games.  I started doing this back in the late 70’s, took some time away from it when our kids …

Read moreBasketball and Writing
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Dan, The Publishing Life, Writing CraftTag: Basketball, publishing, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – February 21, 2014

By Steve Laubeon February 21, 2014
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A parody of the song "Blurred Lines" now called "Church Signs."
Found at Jon Acuff's "Stuff Christians Like" blog. Blame him.

Read moreFun Fridays – February 21, 2014
Category: Fun Fridays, Steve

Do You Like to Cry While Reading?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 20, 2014
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I'll have to admit, I don't like to cry. I don't even like depressing songs. Instead I prefer things that are upbeat. For example, here are some of the lyrics to a song that helped me get through my teen years:
Flashlight.
Red Light.
Neon Light.
Spotlight.
Most of all you can funk. Help me find the funk....
Yoww
I think I found the funk!
["Flashlight" was written by Ronald R. Brooks, …

Read moreDo You Like to Cry While Reading?
Category: Reading, TamelaTag: Reading

Spring is Here!

By Karen Ballon February 19, 2014
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A picture of a beautiful flower I took this morning in our garden.

It started two weeks ago. Little green sprouts poking up through the frozen, barren ground. Ground that, thanks to a winter of record-breaking cold, was so hard just a month ago that not even my shovel made a dent in it. So you can imagine my delight when I spotted those bits of green pushing their way through that same, dead …

Read moreSpring is Here!
Category: Career, Craft, Karen, Personal, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Spring, The Writing Life

Adopt a Bookstore

By Dan Balowon February 18, 2014
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Bookstores throughout the United States are going through the most challenging period in their history.  The combination of online purchase of printed books and the dawn of the eBook have combined to deliver a one-two punch to the business of book retailing.

For Christian bookstores, the challenges started over a decade ago when a substantial part of their business (in some cases over a third) …

Read moreAdopt a Bookstore
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, DanTag: Book Business, Book Sales, Bookstores
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